Electrical Advice Please

[Albert Tatlock]

so it's not true to say

You're seriously overloading the sockets by the sound of it

or suggest that things will catch fire or kill people. And neither is it daft, it's just not ideal. However Wazir's suggestion of socket strips with cut outs is a good one. They tend to me much better quality anyway.

It's uni. Don't forget the other 119 students on the same floor, all on the same ring main.

[Gilligan]

I cannot believe you have managed to get a place at university with spelling and grammar like that.

 

I cannot believe you have managed to get a place at university after reading what you have done.

Look at the time stamp, 2.30am, am I excused now?

 

The speakers peak rating is 300w, the 2 lamps are both energy savers, and the phone charger isn't on all the time, the four block has a separate switch for each socket.

The fridge is made by Daewoo, so i would assume it's a cheap crappy one, it was given to me, so don't know how much it costs.

Also, none of the sockets are covered by anything. The six block is on my desk where it's easily accessable, and the four block is just underneath my bed, again not covered by anything.

 

I thought you were studying Music Technology? Isn't plugging stuff in a potentially dangerous tangle of wires and sparks one of the key components of your course?

I am doing music tech. But I don't see how it is dangerous as none of the cables are bare, and i don't plug or unplug anything without turning the whole lot off at the wall first.

 

I would suggest you quit the geographical and feng shui arrangements and revert to common sense

I can't. The six block has a light which is on my desk, so is the radio, so is the hub (which isn't plugged in all the time), and so are the 2 speakers. The four block has my bedside lamp, computer charger which is long enough to reach my laptop, my bedside clock, and phone charger. It can't happen any other way.

 

Frances, I can wire things like plugs, I managed to wire Dads shed up, and it hasn't blown up yet, is a suppressor just like a box that gets wired inbetween the plug and fridge? How much would one cost?

 

BIG mistake admitting you are at uni on here. It gives instant justification for one ot two posters to be judgemental and make unreasonable unsubstantiated generalisations. You'll learn.......

I don't care, people can judge and generalise all they want, it doesn't bother me.

 

Anyway back to your apparently serious question. Frances' post covers most things. One thing I would add is to put a 5A fuse in the second trailing socket strip's plug in place of the 13A supplied one. There's no way all the loads you have mentioned add up to anywhere near the 2990W rating of one of these wall sockets. Whilst it's not an ideal arrangement, its a **** site safer than those horrible three or four plug in outlet adaptors that you used to see. The only other thing is make sure the plug in power units don't get covered up with piles of clothes etc normally found in student rooms*. And don't give up beer*

 

 

* Note to self don't make unreasonable unsubstantiated generalisations about students.

Cool, that sounds easy enough.

 

Also, the only thing that is slightly warm is the transformer on my computer charger (which is always very fucking hot, but apparently that's normal), and the transformer on the clock plug is ever so slightly warmer than room temperature plastic, but its not hot.

 

I think I'll get a pair of trip switches aswell, will a surge protector help aswell?

 

Unplug the fridge, you're not allowed it anyway.

You can't say that, you haven't got a clue. No where did it say that i wasn't allowed a fridge, the only things that one isn't allowed is toasters, deep fat fryers, cookers and such like. There is a communal microwave, and thats it.

 

It's uni. Don't forget the other 119 students on the same floor, all on the same ring main.

There are only 15.

 

sounds like you need additional filtering to kill the surge when the fridge cuts in/out, put the computer stuff on a small ups or a surge-filtered multi-block (or both) and put the lamps fridge and non-electronic stuff on their own block

What is a "small ups"?

 

Thanks for all the help guys.

[Gilligan]

My advice - switch from the 9hr a week Anglo-Saxon poetry, French or media studies you are studying to Engineering. Besides being interesting, you will have a far better chance of reaching the age of 30.

?

[Frances]

ups = uninterruptable power supply - in your case as you are using a laptop with I presume an onboard battery a complete waste of money,

a surge protected strip (often sold as computer protection device) will offer a miniscule amount of filtering (they generally just have a high speed voltage sensitive resistor to absorb high voltage spikes - might solve the usb hub problem and speaker plops tho - generally a little more expensive than usual strips but B&Q have them at a reasonable price - PC World as well but they are like the Racket, generally rip off merchants.

A suppressor (as found eg in washing machines) looks like a small cylinder with a bolt on the bottom to give solid earthing to a metal frame and a couple of push on terminals - connects across the mains (mainly capacitive) - there is often something similar near the compressor on a fridge (though if it is a peltier effect beer can cooler type (ie often sold as 12v/240v working) then these have no compressor)

To be honest I doubt if you need a safety strip - as a hall of residence the elec supply should be up to very modern standards and would be protected - replacing the 15A fuse in the strip with a 5amp one might be sensible however - I'd get a surge protected strip use it to feed computer etc and get a small strip to feed the fridge only - feed this strip from the nearest socket to the mains input to your room

 

eta - I suspect the fridge might be faulty in some way - was it new - have you checked if plug wired correctly - I have a fridge etc on my kitchen ring in my flat - the same ring supplies my router and a network LAN harddrive - never had any problems with fridge on/off surges

 

I should add that though I am a CEng you should check things with your local electrican if there is any doubt

[Tempus Fugit]

sounds like you need additional filtering to kill the surge when the fridge cuts in/out, put the computer stuff on a small ups or a surge-filtered multi-block (or both) and put the lamps fridge and non-electronic stuff on their own block

What is a "small ups"?

 

Thanks for all the help guys.

 

an 'un-interrptable power supply', a device which contains a battery system which will keep your computer running for a period after the power goes off, also provides a measure of protection for dips and spikes

[Declan]

Have you raised the matter with the accomodation office. Your dorm was probably built in the late 80's/early 90's expansion in HE, so is too new to have been modernised, but was built at a time when students had much less stuff.

[La_Dolce_Vita]

Why not get some extension cables as well?

[Gilligan]

Cool guys thanks a lot.

 

LDV, why? Fecking why?

[ballaughbiker]

It's uni

Fair point Albert but it doesn't matter how many people are on a ring, uni or not. They sussed this out in the early 50s when BS1363 was dreamed up and the present 13A plug and ring main were introduced. The ring cable was originally protected from overcurrent/overheating by a 30A fuse (now more likely a 32A mcb or rcbo) and the cable from the socket was protected by the plug fuse. Prior to BS1363, plugs had no fuse. The problems start when all the above doesn't apply like when the ring main isn't a ring or the fuse is substituted by a nail etc etc none of which is likely to apply here.

 

Giles, good reply. I should get your fridge checked out by an electrician or buy another. They start at about £70. My equally shitty cheap Matsui fridge doesn't do this.

PS the audio power output of your speakers is a peak of 300W. This is not the same as the wattage of the power unit that supplies them which is what we are talking about here.

[La_Dolce_Vita]

Cool guys thanks a lot.

 

LDV, why? Fecking why?

I'd have thought it would offer some potential for employing feng shui in your lovely room. With extension cables you can all your electric good ANYWHERE!

[Declan]

Like his room is not going to be untidy enough to begin with.

[Frances]

Prior to BS1363, plugs had no fuse.

As a child I remember the Wylex stackable plugs that were fused - we certainly had them from c.1950 as I can recall it still next to the cooker (gas) and used to supply my father's proud buy - a huge Bendix washing machine ! I think the rest of the house had those round pin non-fused plugs though

[%age]

Giles,

 

I don't care what time of night or day (isn't it the same thing for students?) it is, for a university student your post contained appalling spelling mistakes, grammar and syntax.

 

To me the dead giveaway is not being able to spell accommodation.....then I saw Declan's post. Perhaps he was being ironic?

 

Have you raised the matter with the accomodation office. Your dorm was probably built in the late 80's/early 90's expansion in HE, so is too new to have been modernised, but was built at a time when students had much less stuff.

 

Oh, and I can see the headlines . . . "119 + 1 Students Perish In Accommodation Electrical Blaze - student took electrical advice off a Manx gossip forum"

 

 

Edited to add:

Declan, best signature ever!

 

Oh! and I can see ballaughbiker frantically typing

[ballaughbiker]

Stop trolling.

[%age]

It took you over 6 minutes to write that.